The number of children and teenagers hospitalized for suicide or self-harm has more than doubled in just 10 years, new research reveals.
Data from 31 children's hospitals across the US shows around 120,000 under-17s have been treated for attempts to take their own life since 2008.
In 2008, suicide attempts or suicidal thoughts accounted for 0.67 percent of child cases in these hospitals. By 2015, that figure had more than doubled to 1.79 percent.
The majority of those attempts came in recent years, and disproportionately affected girls, with two-thirds of cases involving females.
The study also suggests a shifting trend in the 'high season' for suicides, with more now recorded during the school year rather than summer.
This graph from the new study shows the doubling of suicide attempts among children across 31 children's hospitals in the US between 2008 and 2015
The issue disproportionately affected girls, with two-thirds of cases involving females
'To our knowledge, this is one of only a few studies to report higher rates of hospitalization for suicide during the academic school year,' said study lead author Greg Plemmons, MD, associate professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.
